Friday, 12 February 2010

Artichoke, Tomato and Spinach Pizza

So, here's a little background. A few weeks ago I picked up a Rachael Ray Everyday magazine for the first time. I like her show and have one of her cookbooks and always like her recipes, so I thought I would check it out. Inside the magazine was an insert with recipes for 7 dinners, complete with a grocery list of everything you would need. The whole idea was that the groceries for 7 meals would come out to under $100 - $98.14 to be exact. We thought we would give it a go and try out some new meals. So, for the next week I'll post the recipe and blog about how it turned out.

We got the groceries last night and were pleased to see that the groceries came out to be about $130 total, and that was with some other things not on the list that we just usually pick up. We thought the difference would be a lot more considering the American/Canadian exchange, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Up first, Artichoke, Tomato and Spinach Pizza.

Serves: 4 Prep: 20 minutes Bake: 20 minutes

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper

1 pound refrigerated pizza dough (I used Pillsbury pizza dough)

2 cups shredded mozzarella

5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

one 13.75 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved

2 cups baby spinach, chopped

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, place an inverted baking sheet on top and preheat to 500 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic and parsley; season with salt and pepper

3. Using oiled hands (I didn't, I just stretched it out, but that's what the recipe said) stretch the pizza dough to fit a parchment paper lined baking sheet (I didn't use parchment paper, I just put it right on a cookie sheet)

4. Spread 3 tablespoons of the garlic mixture on top, leaving a 1/2 inch border, then sprinkle with the mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan

5. Toss the artichokes, tomatoes and spinach with the remaining garlic mixture and arrange on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons Parmesan on top (I also added more mozzarella on top. You can never have enough cheese.)

6. Place the baking sheet on the inverted backing sheet in the oven and bake until the crust is crisp and golden, about 18 to 20 minutes.

This baked up really quickly and turned out just awesome! I quote Jagger - "This is ridiculous."

I would definitely try this out again - I would love to follow the same idea with the garlic spread and change up the toppings, maybe with the artichoke hearts, spinach and black olives and throw in some goat cheese. Really, goat cheese should go on everything

Try it out, I hope you like it! Tune in tomorrow for Turkey Meatloaf Pie with Sauteed Swiss Chard!

Mmmmmmmm!! That was excellent Ashlie! Thanks for sharing. I think I will try the Mushroom Turnovers next. It took 2 grocery stores to find the pizza dough and I snagged the last roll at Sobeys... then I dropped it in the parking lot and it exploded! There wasn't much damage so we ate it anyway! Thanks again!